'W' grade vs 'C' or 'B' in Dual enrollment course

Applying to College Early Decision / Early Action
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Hi everyone! I’ve received helpful advice here before and would appreciate some perspective on a senior year course decision.

I’m applying for electrical/computer engineering/computer science, with UMD EA, and everywhere else RD. I currently have a 3.98 unweighted high school GPA and am taking dual enrollment Calc 1. dual enrollment World History, AP Lit, AP Physics C Mech, Engineering capstone A, and an engineering internship. Next semester I was going to take Calc 2, Chem for Engineers, AP Physics C E&M, and AP Lit + Engineering capstone B.

I’m considering withdrawing from dual enrollment World History and completing my required history credit through an approved AP World or Honors World course instead. The college history course is interesting, but I underestimated the reading and writing workload alongside my other classes, SAT preparation, applications, tutoring, and extracurricular commitments.

My first writing assignment earned a 70. I told the professor I was planning to drop the class, and he advised against it because it is so early in the semester. However, in my eyes this was the most time I had/will have to complete a writing assignment. Thus, I do not see the other assignments fairing much better. My quizzes have averaged 94% (current grade is ~81), but the two in-person written exams make up 44% of the final grade. Based on the grading weights, earning an A would need ~91% average on all remaining work.

The deadline to withdraw is November 17, and withdrawing now would place a W on my Community College + High School transcript without affecting my GPA. Additionally, the professor recommended waiting until the Mid-term (end of October), but I don’t truly see the point in waiting for the Mid-term because I know I will not do well. For context, the syllabus states that all exams are written only. Example: for a true/false question, you would write true/false AND you must explain why you choose true/false. This same format follows for everything on the test (AKA I can’t guess the answer based on the options given like I have for quizzes, which are all MCQs. I have to know the content at a much deeper level.) Furthermore, the test will contain 2 long written assessments. Another harp I have with the class is the lack of resources. We can ONLY use the textbook. I am used to being able to use an additional 1-2 resources (like Khan Academy, Youtube, OpenStax, etcetera). I know this is likely how courses work in university, and that experiencing it now will help me prepare, but I do not want to sacrifice my current GPA.

How would you weigh one W followed by completion of the history requirement through AP or Honors against staying and potentially earning a B or C? Would the withdrawal raise a significant concern for selective engineering admissions, given that I would maintain the rest of my course load + in past dual enrolment classes I have gotten only As? I have pretty good ECs (2 national competition awards + a couple state/local ones + a summer internship at a big company, and a school year apprentice at a midsize engineering firm), but I go to a non-competitive school (I.E. very average SAT, pretty low GPA average, title 1/majority FARMS school).

I got really good advice here a couple years ago, so I wanted to try my luck again!

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If you were my child I would tell you to withdraw. I don’t see a problem since you are going to take a different history class. You’ll just need to alert the schools you’ve already applied to if you listed that class in your senior year schedule.

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To be clear, you are still able to join these year long courses at your HS? If so, I agree with momofboiler that I lean towards taking the W. Even if you eek out a B, I would be concerned about the impact on your other grades, your ability to finish college apps, and your mental health/the ability to enjoy senior year.

Good luck.

ETA: I also agree you have to notify any schools you have already applied to that you are dropping a class and adding a class.

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For someone with a high tech / CS / math / EE sort of orientation, I would not be all that worried about a B in world history. Even a C would not panic me. I also would not be concerned about a W on your record. I am by the way a former math major who also once had a C in a history course (it was not world history).

Also, as a future voter, knowing something about world history seems like a good idea.

One issue that I wonder about is how much stress this is causing you, and how much time does this take away from everything else that you are doing. Senior year of high school can be a busy and stressful time.

If this is causing you stress and if this is going to impact your ability to do well in other courses, I would be inclined to drop it. If the issue is just that you will need to work hard to pull off a B and this would pull down your GPA a bit, I just would not worry about it.

I certainly would not be concerned at all about taking a W on your transcript. All this would say to me is that you started off taking a bit too much, and made the wise decision too drop something that was not core for your intended major.

Or at least that is the way that I see it.

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I haven’t applied to any schools yet (EA for UMD isn’t until November 1st luckily!) However, I did apply to Coca-Cola scholars and had listed DE World History as one of my 3 core social studies classes. I am unsure if I am supposed to reach out to them.

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Yup! My district has a TON of resources to help students take classes that aren’t offered at their school and/or doesn’t fit their schedule. I can either take all of AP World History next semester or take Honors World History this semester + next semester (late start/accelerated class.)

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Thank you! Multiple people have told me that a W/B/C won’t affect me as a STEM major, but I heard selective schools want a well-rounded student.

Also, about future voter: I totally agree! I loved AP Government and genuinely enjoy learning about the past through literature reviews, video essays, and fiction. Because it is a graduation requirement, I am going to be take a world history class no matter.

Finally, about the stress: During junior year I juggled a full HS course load + dual enrollment + a ton of clubs (that I really shouldn’t have said yes to joining). Most would say I ended up doing really good because I ended the first semester with only 1 B. However, if I am being honest, the B recked me mentally (I was short of an A by ~2%). This dropped my GPA from a 4.0 to a 3.98, which I know to most isn’t a big deal, but it was to me. I ended up losing all motivation to do anything. The stress of that semester was really bad, and I can see this semester heading down the same path…

I really want to enjoy senior year instead of having a routine of school —> HW —> (sometimes) sleep. I want to go to prom, hoco, hand out with friends, etcetera. Despite this, I still put my grades above anything else. Hence, the long-winded post :sweat_smile:

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One daughter had one single B in high school. It was in a history class. I told her not to worry about it, and we stopped for ice cream on the way home from school. This was quite a while ago (the same daughter is in a PhD program now). Quite recently she told me that she still remembers getting ice cream on the way home that day. She ended up being 5 for 5 in university admissions with merit aid. Admittedly she did not apply to any Ivy League schools, but she did apply to very good schools that were a good fit for her. Since that point she had done well, and the one B really did not have any impact at all on her life except for one thing: I noticed that after that point she was putting just a little extra effort into her essays (they would often come out on a printer near where I sat in the evening, so I would take them up to her and take a quick look at them on the way).

Really, that one B is not going to be a problem for you. Even at Ivy League schools, and similarly selective schools such as Chicago, MIT, and Stanford, the students are not perfect. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses and no one is perfect.

And for electrical engineering and computer science, you can do very well starting with a bachelor’s degree from a very wide range of universities, certainly including UMD and many other public universities and local universities.

That is a very good reason to drop the class and take a W. For all of us, even the strongest students, there is some limit regarding how much we can take on at the same time. We each need to figure out what that limit is. Sometimes this means taking on a little too much, and then scaling back when needed.

Life is a very long marathon. We each need to find our pace.

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My specialty!

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It won’t affect you because you’re replacing it and the decision on your candidacy will be made before your W is known.

They are evaluating you through Junior year, not Senior year (at UMD anyway).

Nonetheless, if you will have 3 years of social science, you should be fine.

It sounds like your rigor is a little bit crushing - so you might have over done it.

If you have 3 years of social science, you may consider not even picking up another class although that might also depend on your list..

As for the 3.98 - in life, there are challenges. You were overwhelmed. You noticed it. So you step back.

You won’t always succeed but how you handle things often matters as much as what happened.

You are right - in life, no one will care if you had a 4.0 or 3.98. Not tomorrow, not in 20 years, and not in 50 years.

Good luck.

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I recommend withdrawing from the DE class tomorrow morning, if possible, & taking accelerated AP World History next semester. You would the opportunity to score a “5” on the AP exam in May. You don’t need another “B”.

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If they are a senior, the B is unlikely to matter. Maybe at a few RDs but unlikely to even be seen b4 an admission decision is made.

Kids need to stop the I must be perfect mindset. It’s not healthy, as this student has acknowledged.

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Coconutoil has two ways out: honors & AP. And his current average of 81 is a “B-”.

Just imagine how a “C+” would affect Coconutoil and in a college DE class! It’s not necessary. S/he doesn’t need the DE World History class to gain an admission advantage to any particular university. Plus, with the AP option, s/he would have a second opportunity to earn college credit. Perhaps the potential “S” credit could replace the “W”.

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Dependent upon how many years of social science they had and their school list, they may not need another class at all.

But my point is they need to realize a B or C are ok. That’s a bigger concern. The grade will neither wreck nor define them and won’t likely impact admission chances and most certainly not at UMD. Even many RD schools will only see 9-11 grades.

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Coconutoil has to take and pass World History to qualify for a high school diploma. If s/he didn’t have the other options available, then I would agree to an extent.

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Agree with TSBNA 100%. Learning to deal with “non-perfection” is an important life skill. More important than getting all A’s and more important than loading up an already tough schedule with still MORE to do.

I have people on my team at work who fall apart when the feedback they get isn’t “you’re amazing, you’re incredible”. I remind them that they aren’t in HS where the goal is to get as many A’s as possible. The goal is to add value to the projects we work on- and course correction is going to be part of their working life until the day they retire.

OP- drop the class and move on with enjoying what’s left of HS! Think of how great it will feel when you aren’t worrying about this!

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Coconutoil already had the first experience dealing with this skill junior year. Now is not the ideal time for a second lesson is s/he can avoid it. Coconutoil will have plenty of opportunities to deal with “non-perfection” in the university & adult life.